As far as the Australian Sports Commission is concerned, the measure of the success of Australian sporting high performance programs is how many Olympic gold medals and World Championships we win.
This principle guides federal funding for high performance programs and the development of talent search programs for events with low participation bases that are identified as soft targets.
But I don’t judge Australia’s success on the world stage that way and I’m wondering what other Roarers think.
I like a gold medal as much as the next punter, and I believe any athlete with the ability to achieve excellence should be supported, but what I really want is to see international success in the sports we have a strong a tradition in.
For me, that means:
• Having a strong Test cricket team.
• Having men and women in contention for tennis majors and a competitive Davis Cup team.
• Having men and women in contention for golf majors.
• Winning Swimming gold medals and championships.
• Having competitive track and field athletes.
• Having a strong Wallabies team.
The vibrancy of the national competitions of our major football codes is another indicator of the overall health of Australian high performance sport.
These are the things that matter.
I think it’s about time the people living in the ivory towers of the Australian Sports Commission woke up to what Australian sporting public really cares about.
No amount of gold medals in events like women’s skeleton are going to convince us we’re going alright if we’re not doing well in the sports we follow because of the strong emotional connection we feel with them.
Johnno
Guest
We did win an Archery gold medal, and a water polo gold.
peeeko
Roar Guru
i thought the authors point was that we should stop funding obscure olympic sports in the hope of winning medals? i very much agree with your points about community participation and funding
peeeko
Roar Guru
i thought the authors point was that we should stop funding obscure olympic sports in the hope of winning medals? i very much agree with your points about community participation and funding
Johnno
Guest
The aritcle writer! You talk the Australian traditon of haveing a Having competitive track and field athletes. When was that last a tradition the 1950's, the 1956 Melbourne Olympics lol. And to the writer you do know in the 70's and 80's rowing was a massive sport in Sydney, and was huge in Melbourne and still very much is. Victorians have a big rowing culture And Basketball the 3 heartlands have always been Adelaide and Melbourne, and WA. Shane Heal is from Melbourne people, not from Sydney. Gaze, Andrew Bogut, Mark Bradke. Most of Australia's most talented players all come from Victoria or South Australia. Matt Neilisen was the 1st break though NSW player who became a big star. And you talk about medals, as if Sailing has no culture in Australia. Heard of the sydney to Hobart. And were a nation of water sports lovers. Swimming is the biggest participation sport. And we love sailing the australian tradition , you get on a dinghy or a mini catamaran. A big sailing culture in OZ, the writer here seems to miss, and no surprise why there successful, same with cycling or kayaking. The 1st thing you do as a kid is learn how to ride a bike before you learn how to to kick a footy. This article smells Sydney centric to me.
Ian Whitchurch
Guest
I completely disagree. For me, the health of sport in Australia is how many Australians are running around a paddock, a court or any other sports field. The elite can look after themselves - if we want to hire swim coaches, then charge twenty five bucks per spectator to the swim meet and split the money between the pool's owners, the swimmers and the coaches. But use tax dollars to keep the municipal pool open. Similarly, taxpayer money should not be going to a footy ground for any of the professional codes - let Vlad spend his own money, not bludge off the NSW taxpayer. But I think you should get a hundred bucks tax free for coaching a kids footy side, and I definitely think the local council should have a cricket pitch that covers for australian rules in winter, and as many rectangles as rugby union, rugby league and association football need.. Ditto golf, ditto tennis and ditto athletics. Australian sport should be about Australians playing sport - about all of us, not just the best of us. In short, stuff national glory every four years - I want every town, every district and every suburb to have it's own teams running around it's own fields twelve months in every year.
peeeko
Roar Guru
Very much agree, too much emphasis on medals